Subject: Is this a tarantula? Geographic location of the bug: Sebastopol, CA Date: 10/11/2018 Time: 02:27 PM EDT Your letter to the bugman: My husband was getting ready to ride the GranFondo bike ride in Santa Rosa last weekend and saw this huge spider by his bike shoe. What is it and is it dangerous? How you want your letter signed: Spiders in Sebastopol

Tarantula

This is indeed a Tarantula. California Tarantulas are not aggressive and they are not considered dangerous.

Dear Darlene, This is a male Trapdoor Spider in the genus Ummidia, and here is a BugGuide image for comparison. Male Trapdoor Spiders are generally sighted more often than females because females are more sedentary while males wander in search of a mate.

Subject: Usually I scream and run away like the girl I am but… Geographic location of the bug: Bothell, WA Date: 05/28/2018 Time: 01:30 AM EDT Your letter to the bugman: I stuck around today to take pictures of this girl, I found while sweeping out a storage unit. She was under a pile of dead leaves, sticks and bird droppings. I assume she’s a she, I could be wrong but I am sure she won’t know. 🙂 I snapped a few pictures then left her alone. It’s what I would have wanted if I was a spider. How you want your letter signed: Perplexed In WA

Trapdoor Spider

Dear Perplexed in WA, This Spider identification has been on our back burner since you sent it several days ago, but we have not had any luck identifying it other than that we know it is a Mygalomorph in the infraorderMygalomorphae. Mygalomorphs are primitive spiders, and their members include Tarantulas and Trapdoor Spiders. While Tarantulas are not found as far north as Washington, there are several different families of Mygalomorphs reported from Washington. We have not successfully identified your Spider and we are continuing to search BugGuide. The closest match we have found is on Insect Identification and it is identified as a member of the genus Antrodiaetus. We cannot confirm a species on BugGuide from the genus Antrodiaetus that matches the coloration on your individual, including the red cephalothorax and legs and darker abdomen.

Subject: tarantula Geographic location of the bug: Ecuadoran andes 30 miles west of Quito Date: 04/02/2018 Time: 01:37 PM EDT Your letter to the bugman: On a birding tour of Ecuador we found this beauty in the road. It’s about 4-5″ long. Any idea on Species? How you want your letter signed: BirderKate

Tarantula

Dear BirderKate, Your individual resembles this FlickR image identified as being a member of the genus Pamphobeteus. We suspect the arachnophiles in our readership may write in with a confirmation or correction.

Subject: what is this thing?? Geographic location of the bug: Eugene, Oregon Date: 12/18/2017 Time: 02:53 PM EDT Your letter to the bugman: just curious what the heck this thing is. It looks scary but I did end up letting it go, unharmed. How you want your letter signed: chris

Trapdoor Spider

Dear Chris, We are sorry for the long delay. Your original request arrived while our editorial staff was away from the office for several weeks and we were never able to respond to all the emails that arrived during our absence. This is some species of Trapdoor Spider and it looks very similar to an individual we located in our own archives that we never identified more specifically. It looks like it is most likely Antrodiaetus pacificus which is pictured on BugGuide and which is reported from Oregon.

Sorry about that. I found it under an old wooden deck in my backyard. It was hiding in a small tunnel dug into the dirt, like a trap door spider. I live in Eugene, Oregon and this was spotted during the summer months.

Subject: Red Legged Purseweb Spider Geographic location of the bug: humble texas Date: 02/02/2018 Time: 12:35 AM Your letter to the bugman: sir, I was going through my pic’s and vid’s and I found some more pictures and vid of the red legged purse spider I also found in humble Texas a few years ago like the red velvet And I released it on its way as to cause it no harm only to look at it and was amazed at the size of it and the what looked like massive fangs. i hope you can enjoy these items. How you want your letter signed: Mr David Mullins